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The concept of time (special needs kiddos)....

My son is 10 and has NO concept of time. He understands it just fine on a worksheet. He clearly understands there are 7 days/ week, 24 hours in a day, and can tell time just fine on a clock. But he has NO idea how those numbers relate to his life. Lets say we have a play date Friday at 3, he dosen't understand what that really means. He honestly thinks he can change time. So if he wants the play day to come quickly he will just change the calendar and time. We've tried counting down the days on a calendar. I've tried making "appointments" ( we're going to take a walk at 2 pm) but nothing seems to work.

This is our conversation this morning

Collin: When is Anne going to get here?!!

Me: Anne isn't coming today, she's coming next week.

Collin: (Screaming/yelling) She IS coming today.

Me: No she's coming next week, today is Wednesday, we can see her in 7 days.

Collin: kicking and screaming, (now sitting on his quiet chair)

Not sure if its an autism/maturity thing. It just seems like he will NEVER get the concept. It's very frustrating. Anyone else deal with this? Any ideas or suggestions?

My son is 8 and still counts things by the number of shows it would take. Lol no, he doesn't watch that much TV. He likes to use the guide feature that shows what is going to be on by half an hour increments. It finally helped him understand how much time has to pass. So I will say we leave in 2 hours. I here Cole say to himself that we leave in four shows.

I've tried a calendar. If he wants a certain day to come quicker, he just crosses off the days. Like I said, he honestly thinks he can change time. Christmas was insane. We had to make about 10 countdown calendars lol (non of which worked to teach him the concept).

Quoting mommy4lyf:

I use wall calendar just for him. He crossed out everyday. I write his appointments in colored markers so he knows. He likes to count days before vacations lol

Yes! My son too! For a long time we knew the tv schedule on nick jr and pbs. If he wanted to know how long before dinner he would turn on the TV. Now we hardly watch tv and they changed the darn schedule around so we're all messed up. That would work well for daily things, but if we're doing something next week. Ugghh.. "Collin we need to watch electric company 14 times before we go to Annes." lol. The kid has NO patience and I have hardly have any left.

Quoting mem82:

My son is 8 and still counts things by the number of shows it would take. Lol no, he doesn't watch that much TV. He likes to use the guide feature that shows what is going to be on by half an hour increments. It finally helped him understand how much time has to pass. So I will say we leave in 2 hours. I here Cole say to himself that we leave in four shows.

Have you tried using an alarm clock that goes off every hour or on certain time? my son is not very good with theory without application. He learns pretty much by concrete example. You will find a way... we always do lol... we had the same issue before. My son thought that he can have his birthday anytime of the year.

Quoting irvinehiker:

I've tried a calendar. If he wants a certain day to come quicker, he just crosses off the days. Like I said, he honestly thinks he can change time. Christmas was insane. We had to make about 10 countdown calendars lol (non of which worked to teach him the concept).

Quoting mommy4lyf:

I use wall calendar just for him. He crossed out everyday. I write his appointments in colored markers so he knows. He likes to count days before vacations lol

"If the child cannot learn in the way we teach...we must teach in the way the child can learn."

Thats a possibility. He has sensory issues and gets over stimulated VERY easily. So an hourly alarm would drive us all crazy, but maybe 3 to 4 times throughout the day to start out. I think with him its a maturity thing. The whole issue will probaly work its way out over time. It's just going to take a REALLY LONG time.

Quoting mommy4lyf:

Have you tried using an alarm clock that goes off every hour or on certain time? my son is not very good with theory without application. He learns pretty much by concrete example. You will find a way... we always do lol... we had the same issue before. My son thought that he can have his birthday anytime of the year.

Quoting irvinehiker:

I've tried a calendar. If he wants a certain day to come quicker, he just crosses off the days. Like I said, he honestly thinks he can change time. Christmas was insane. We had to make about 10 countdown calendars lol (non of which worked to teach him the concept).

Quoting mommy4lyf:

I use wall calendar just for him. He crossed out everyday. I write his appointments in colored markers so he knows. He likes to count days before vacations lol

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